"Thank GOD these quirky,
wacky, earthy, anal geniuses have the spare time to amuse us with cheesy
records spouting four letter words and witty satire."
Steve Skinner, Aspen.com News
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Review of The Astounding World of
Dirt
By Barley Smooth, critic
I hold in my trembling hands a compact disc called, "Flicker Noise
Presents The Astounding World Of Dirt." My hands tremble from a combination
of caffeine, anticipation and what can only be called lust. Yes, lust.
The thought of inserting this CD into my five-disc changer brings lust
to my heart.
Flicker Noise is a comedy troupe from the Aspen area that you have more
than likely never heard of. These people are not the glitzy gazillionaires
that you may associate with Aspen, however. They are hard working artists
living in the belly of the Beast. But whereas others find themselves being
digested by the juices found in this belly, the crew of Flicker Noise
use stomach acid recreationally. And it shows in their comedy.
I steady myself and place the CD in the empty slot, send the tray back
in and press - steady now - PLAY.
The first track is also the title track, a send-up of the insultingly
simple educational films that those of us of a certain age may have had
to watch when our teachers didn't feel like teaching that day. As the
narrator waxes poetic about the many uses of that ever-present godsend,
dirt ("And what about the future of dirt? Well, imagine a car that
runs on dirt! Where dirt is concerned, anything is possible!"), I
find myself unsuccessfully trying to stifle a guffaw. Guffaws should not,
nay, MUST not, be stifled. I may as well let it flow early on, as there
is a solid fifty minutes of sketch comedy to get through.
I believe it was satirist Paul Krassner who said that sacred cows make
the best hamburgers. If this is true, then Flicker Noise is a full-blown
backyard bar-b-q of irreverent comedy, with plenty of surreal potato salad
on the picnic table. This is serve-yourself comedy, buffet lines and reinforced
paper plates and plastic forks that won't snap off in the sarcastic cole
slaw.
If you like comedy, then you must own this CD. If you don't like comedy,
you should really learn to, because everyone thinks you're a total drag
to be around. |
Record Release Solar Burning
KDNK, Carbondale, CO 2000
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